Only Michelle Yeoh returns from the original cast, back as Yu Shu-Lien and starring alongside Donnie Yen (Ip Man, The Monkey King) as Silent Wolf. The plot seems fairly close to the drive of the original in that a legendary sword is at the center of a battle for the survival of the world. There also looks to be plenty of impressive, impossible action sequences involving gravity defying flips and spins, and lots of kicked props.

It’s visually pretty well done (thanks to director Woo-Ping Yuen, fight choreographer for The Matrix and Kill Bill franchises, director of Jackie Chan’s classic Drunken Master), but something feels a little lackluster here. Even if it’s slight, the use of subpar CGI graphics takes away from the visual appeal of what made the original so compelling. And then there’s the dull subtitled that almost sounds like a parody (hi, Tenacious D) and the completely lazy tagline, “The past returns with a vengeance.” Let’s not even talk about the grossly computerized and slowed down cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” that’s chill inducing in all the wrong ways.

Netflix is hoping to rewrite the rules of movie releases with Crouching Tiger, making it available in IMAX theaters simultaneously to its streaming release. Already theaters are boycotting the film, saying the Neflix model cuts into their own profitability, and it’s hard to imagine this film being the one that changes things the way its predecessor did.

“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny tells an epic story of lost love, young love, a legendary sword and one last opportunity at redemption, set against breathtaking action in an epic martial arts battle between good and evil that will decide the fate of the Martial World.